At press time, bitcoin is trading for approximately $9,130 following a long week of volatility exploits and price drops. The cryptocurrency has been experiencing massive swings between the $8,900 and $9,500 range, and it’s unclear if or when bitcoin will decide to settle before another respective run. Just over a week ago, bitcoin was trading for approximately $11,200, though drops have likely occurred thanks to ongoing regulatory tactics. Currently, China’s IT Ministry is set to implement “official” blockchain standards. While the country has shown it’s not for a solid ban on cryptocurrencies altogether, it has taken stances against unregulated or energy-consuming activity. To limit mining, for example, China has reduced the amount of electricity originally made available to miners. It has also blocked cryptocurrency exchanges on social media, and even censored them on applications like WeChat. Perhaps the biggest blockade came last week when the nation decided it would block platforms that granted investors the chance to trade on overseas exchanges. The sentiment seems to be official: you either trade in China, or you don’t trade at all. Presently, Asia seems to be a central hub for bitcoin use – and related problems. In Japan, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) explained it would enter a roll of “punishing” cryptocurrency exchanges that did not fully work to protect the financial assets or privacy of their customers. The move stems from the recent malware attack on Coincheck, one of Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Over $500 million USD in NEM was stolen; the…
Source: Bitcoin Price Watch: Breaking K is Proving Difficult